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Practice List Hygiene to Improve Deliverability

A clean list is extremely important when it comes to optimizing response rates and conversions. A new article on iMedia Connection discusses list hygiene best practices and the vital role feedback loop data can play in this process.

The article, which includes highlights from a recent study by JupiterResearch, stresses “quality over quantity”. A vital step to maintaining a clean list is to remove inactive email addresses. While this seems pretty simple, over one third of email marketers are not following this practice. Failure to remove inactive email addresses can negatively affect deliverability and can even result in getting blocked by ISPs.

Marketing automation software can simplify the process of list hygiene. While these tools do not remove the addresses that have had a hard bounce or multiple soft bounces, they do filter them out from any future email communications. For lists populated via form conversions, automatic email validation helps you filter out free and invalid addresses.

Feedback loop data also plays a vital role in maintaining a clean list. iMedia Connection’s article states that 25% of subscribers use the “this is spam” button in their email interface to unsubscribe from a mailing list. Feedback loop data can help you keep your list clean by identifying which subscribers are clicking the “spam” button and help you determine which practices might be causing this action. This data is becoming increasingly important in recent months as the number of ISPs adopting feedback loops has grown significantly. For tips on reducing your recipients’ “spam” button clicks and “unsubscribes”, check out our July 16 posting, “Components of a Successful Marketing Email“.